Episode 105 – Akim the Terrible

The philosophical series narrator hurtles viewers through the cosmos to the bleak planet of Karin, where all that is evil is considered good, and where honest humans must hide in fear due to their noble acts. A representative from the Galaxy Bureau of Investigations who comes highly praised by Flash Gordon is sent to investigate the evil leader of the black planet, King Akim. Trouble befalls him immediately upon arrival, and it’s up to Flash to save his colleague while aligning the planets towards justice.

As a series, “The Space Adventures of Flash Gordon” epitomizes the Sci-Fi genre of the 1950’s. Growing fascination by the general public in the embryonic stages of space travel, particularly the possibility of alien life forms, created strong interest in the genre at this time. Production of science fiction television was a creative and economic decision by networks and television producers to capitalize on the growing market, creating fresh material.

The source material comes from a comic series published by King Features and created by Alex Raymond. The production for the series was a co-production between Interwest Film and Luedecke Production. Wenzel Leudecke produced this episode, with Wallace Worsley Jr. serving as director. Earl Markham and Bruce Elliot penned the script. The series regular cast included Steve Holland as Flash Gordon, Irene Champlin as Dale Arden, and Joe Nash as Dr. Zarkov. A film of the same name preceded the series 18 years before – “Flash Gordon” (1936) – but had an entirely different creative team. The series was shot on film and production took place in West Berlin. It was sold as a syndication product, and aired on local networks at varied times from morning to early evening. In terms of financial backing other than Motion Pictures for Television (MPTV), the “Flash” found sponsorship in Best Foods.

Airdate: November 5, 1954 (Time varied by local market)
Series run: October 1, 1954 - July 15, 1955

References: Variety archives, The Billboard archives, IMDB

-(CAB/110)

Season 1, episode 5.
Original air date: 5 November 1954.
The space patrol sends Flash`s best friend to investigate a planet where it is reported that mercy is a crime and the weak are exploited. the agent is captured, brainwashed and sent back to murder Flash. Thanks to Dale`s timely intervention, Flash survives the attack, and the pair are sent back to the world to learn how Flash`s friend was tricked into trying to assassinate his friend.
Cast: Steve Holland (Flash Gordon), Irene Champlin (Dale Arden) and Joe Nash (Dr. Hans Zarkov).
From IMDB.

In this episode of the terribly odd series Flash Gordon, we learn of a planet called Kares, or something like that, where Bad is Good! Good is Bad! the space commission sends a representative to check things out, but he is kidnapped, and forced into um, a strobing chair.. Now he is bad! And he's instructed to kill Flash Gordon! Oh Noes!
All of this is plain odd. The planet looks like it was decorated by a six year old. the alien costumes are just strange, the actors are pretty odd themselves (especially the guy playing the space rep) and the acting is sometimes laughable. Check out when Flash defeats his former friend, and Dale shrieks out with "FLASH I DON'T UNDERSTAND! WHY WAS HE TRYING TO KILL YOU?"
Interesting that this whole series was filmed in West Berlin. Which would explain the accents all the bad guys have...